TUESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* By all accounts, the streets of Tripoli are a war zone: “Libya appeared to slip further into chaos on Tuesday, as Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi vowed to ‘fight until the last drop of my blood’ and clashes intensified between rebels and his loyalists in the capital, Tripoli. Opposition forces claimed to have consolidated their hold over a string of cities across nearly half of Libya’s 1,000 mile Mediterranean coast, leaving Colonel Qaddafi in control of just parts of the capital and some of southern and central Libya, including his hometown.”
* New Zealand: “Rescue workers spent a cold, rainy night searching through rubble for survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck New Zealand’s second-largest city, Christchurch, on Tuesday, killing at least 65 people.”
* Markets freaked out a bit today, leading to a Saudi announcement: “Trying to calm turbulent oil markets, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said on Tuesday that the OPEC cartel was ready to pump more oil to compensate for any dropoff caused by unrest in the Middle East.”
* He’s usually more diplomatic: “To the shock of President Hamid Karzai’s aides, Gen. David H. Petraeus suggested Sunday at the presidential palace that Afghans caught up in a coalition attack in northeastern Afghanistan might have burned their own children to exaggerate claims of civilian casualties, according to two participants at the meeting.”
* It’s not just Wisconsin: “Protestors packed into Ohio’s State Capitol building and several thousand more gathered outside on Tuesday, as its legislature planned new hearings on a bill that would effectively end collective bargaining for state workers and dramatically reduce its power for local workers, like police officers and firefighters.”
* Don’t forget the anti-union push in Florida, too: “The bill would bar government employers from deducting either union dues or voluntary contributions to union political accounts.”
* In Madison, a left-leaning website used by union supporters to rally protesters has been inaccessible in Wisconsin’s capitol. Hmm.
* On a related note, “Americans for Prosperity” are launching an ad campaign in Wisconsin. Imagine that.
* I wish I knew why Republican governors don’t like their constituents, and seem to want their state economies to suffer.
* Rep. David Wu (D) of Oregon is now being treated with medication and counseling after an “intervention” staged by his staffers.
* Terrific graphic from Jamison Foser: “People likely to be hired by CNN.”
* George Will sure could use an editor.
* Post of the Day: “The Relationship between Union Membership and State Budget Deficits.”
* The National Institute for Civil Discourse will be housed at the University of Arizona, and its honorary co-chairmen will be former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
* And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) is ready to see his home state of Nevada end legal prostitution, which he believes may be an impediment to economic development: “Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment — not as the last place where prostitution is still legal.” We’ll see how that goes.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
